Celine Dion will perform a private concert in December to launch Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute’s $60 million expansion capital campaign. Proceeds from the concert will directly benefit the Institute.
The expansion’s design is based on a visionary construction model of space creation developed by the Institute’s founder and Medical Director Barry T. Katzen, M.D., and medical leadership team. The boldest aspect of the expansion will be integrated spaces for interventional cardiology, vascular surgery, heart surgery and interventional radiology to accommodate future innovations in comprehensive treatment. The medical disciplines traditionally are set apart in a hospital atmosphere.
The Institute has revolutionized practices in cardiovascular care, techniques and procedures. It attracts patients from all over the world, including the husband of Canadian singer Celine Dion. Grateful to the physicians and Institute staff that three years ago saved the life of her spouse, Dion will donate her performance Dec. 16 in Miami Beach to benefit the Institute.
“Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute has been ahead of its time for the past 25 years, and this expansion will allow its leadership team to take the Institute to the next level in medical excellence,” Brian Keeley, CEO of Baptist Health South Florida, said.
Also jumpstarting the expansion campaign, which includes the development of a national Center for Aneurysm Therapy, is a benefactor’s $5 million challenge grant. Victor E. Clarke, an honorary board member of the Baptist Health Foundation, will match all contributions up to $5 million.
The kickoff event’s co-chairs are Armando and Margarita Codina, and James and Susan Carr. Honorary chairs are Dr. Barry and Judith Katzen.
The world-class building will be an expansion of the Institute at 8900 N. Kendall Drive at the Baptist Hospital campus.
“Our ten-year vision will build on the Institute’s foundation, creating a medical facility that will write the future and expand the boundaries of cardiac and vascular care,” Katzen said.
The expansion’s design encompasses the creation of local centers of specialized care, programs that address the most pressing patient needs, including centers for Endovascular Therapy and Integrated Cardiovascular Health and Improvement.
“We will continue to set the agenda, push patient care in new directions and embrace new approaches. We will continue to be at the center of the changing world of cardiovascular disease,” Katzen said. “Toward these goals we will expand the Institute’s research and academic programs to push the boundaries of what we know and successfully move our ideas into reality.”
Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute is part of Baptist Health South Florida, the largest faith-based, not-for-profit healthcare organization in the region. Established in 1987, the Institute treats heart and blood vessels as a single entity within a multidisciplinary framework that brings together specialists from all areas, so that doctors consult and collaborate to give the best patient care.
The Institute's philosophy since it was established – to treat the entire cardiovascular system as a single entity – sets it apart from other medical centers that treat the heart and circulatory system separately. Housing state-of-the-art diagnostic, treatment and rehabilitation areas, as well as advanced endovascular suites, the Institute remains an internationally renowned center of excellence in cardiovascular care.
At any given time, the Institute is involved in dozens of clinical trials, including major multi-center studies funded by the National Institutes of Health. The result is a unified environment that encourages excellence, provides continuity and supports healing. Led by Katzen, the Institute’s physicians include a broad array of cardiac and vascular experts, many nationally recognized for their pioneering efforts in less-invasive treatment, including: interventional radiologists and neuroradiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, clinical and interventional cardiologists, electrophysiologists, vascular surgeons, and specialty-trained nurses and technologists.
Contact: Ray Casas, 305-372-1234
rcasas@wraggcasas.com
Melissa Lichtenheld, 305-372-1234
mlichtenheld@wraggcasas.com
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